It was formed during the lead-up to the Iraq War and U.S.-led invasion of that country in March 2003, but now it no longer exists.

The Halifax Peace Coalition dissolved last year, after a peace symbol-making event in front of city hall in late August.

In between, the coalition — made up of more than two dozen community, labour, faith and other groups — organized many protests, vigils, letter-writing efforts, speaking engagements and lobbying campaigns.

With violence yet again plaguing the Middle East, involving Israel and Hamas, the grassroots peace organization is defunct. Other local peace groups remain active, though, a longtime member of the former coalition said recently.

“The individual members still around tend to participate in events organized by (such groups) as the Voice of Women for Peace, and Canadians, Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace,” Carolyn van Gurp told The Chronicle Herald.

Tamara Lorincz, who was the face and voice of the coalition for years, said she laments the group’s demise but feels it accomplished a lot during its existence.

“Over the years, we organized hundreds of rallies, protests, film screenings, lectures and events to try to build a culture of peace in Canada’s most militarized province,” she said in an email. “We tried to do something to make a positive difference.”

Lorincz, who’s doing a peace fellowship at the University of Bradford, in the United Kingdom, said communities in this country should follow Europe’s lead when it comes to backing local peace organizations.

“In my travels and work in Europe, I have come across many peace organizations that are well funded and supported by their local municipalities, such as in Barcelona, Basel (and) Brussels,” she said in her email. “Canada is not as advanced in its understanding of peace and non-violence as Europe.”

Lorincz said the Halifax coalition died mainly because “it was really hard to keep the (group) going with only volunteers and with very little financial resources. Our annual budget was less than $500.”

Although it was established by member groups, van Gurp said, the organization evolved into one with individuals. “When we chose to dissolve (the coalition), the remaining members felt we could be more effective in supporting other existing organizations,” she said.

Lorincz said the final public event the group organized in Halifax involved the making of a human peace symbol last summer near city hall. The group also urged Mayor Mike Savage to be part of the international Mayors for Peace network.

Savage’s predecessor, Peter Kelly, had always declined to join.

A blurb promoting the peace sign-making, which took place Aug. 27, was the last activity listed on the coalition’s moribund website. (The stale notice said participants would be calling for a non-violent resolution to crises in Syria and Egypt.)

The Mayors for Peace component turned out to be a bit of a grand finale.

“For more than a decade, we pushed the office of the mayor to join the … network,” Lorincz acknowledged. Savage signed on in January, she said, “so we ended on a victory.”